Óscar Miranda Abogado
Áreas de práctica
Ver todasDefensa estratégica · juicios orales · amparo penal
Divorcios · pensión · custodia · sucesiones
Despido, finiquito y liquidación · lo que te corresponde de verdad
Contratos · arrendamiento · daños · litigio
Cobro de deudas · pagaré · juicios ejecutivos
Constitución · compliance · gobierno corporativo
Defensa SAT · TFJA · predial · amparo fiscal
Clausuras · multas · INVEA · juicio de nulidad
Residencias · naturalización · INM
Registro · oposición · propiedad intelectual
Compraventa · escrituración · vicios ocultos
Negativa de pensión · semanas cotizadas · Modalidad 40
Asesoría inicial desde $2,000 MXN · Lunes a viernes 9:00 – 21:00
Agendar por WhatsAppÓscar Miranda Abogado
FOR FOREIGN CREDITORS & COMPANIES · MEXICO CITY
A Mexican customer or partner owes you money and stopped answering. To collect a debt from a Mexican company you need debt collection in Mexico done the way Mexican courts actually work: the right procedure for the documents you hold, a debtor who feels real pressure, and assets identified before you spend on litigation. Óscar Miranda is a licensed Mexican attorney (cédula profesional 13195234) who handles commercial collections for foreign creditors entirely in English — with fees tied primarily to what is actually recovered, not to how long the case drags on.
Last updated:
Mexican commercial law treats a pagaré (promissory note) — and a bounced check — as an executive title: a document that carries its own enforcement. That unlocks the juicio ejecutivo mercantil (executive commercial proceeding), where the sequence is inverted compared to ordinary litigation: when the judge admits the claim, the court orders the debtor to pay on the spot and, failing that, attaches the debtor’s assets from the very first order — bank accounts, vehicles, machinery, registered property — for the amount owed plus interest and costs. The debtor pays first and argues later. Our Spanish-language guide to the pagaré enforcement process covers it step by step.
That attachment changes the psychology of the case: debtors who ignored months of reminders often negotiate full payment as soon as their accounts are frozen. Two conditions apply, and both are strict:
Article 170 of the Negotiable Instruments Law (LGTOC) lists the mandatory elements — the word “pagaré” in the text, an unconditional promise to pay, the beneficiary’s name, place and date of payment, place and date of signing, and the maker’s signature. Miss one and the note loses its executive force. We review your note before quoting the case, and we tell you honestly if it is defective. The debtor, once served, has 8 business days to raise defenses (payment, expiry, forged signature); if none succeed, the court issues an enforceable judgment and attached assets are auctioned.
The direct executive action on a pagaré is time-barred 3 years after its due date (Article 165 LGTOC, applied to promissory notes through Article 174). After that, the fast-track route is gone and only slower ordinary claims on the underlying debt remain. A drawer full of aging pagarés is a portfolio quietly extinguishing itself — if yours are approaching the deadline, that is the matter we file first.
Interest is claimed alongside principal: the default interest rate agreed in the note itself or, where none was agreed, the statutory commercial rate. A well-drafted pagaré typically takes 6–12 months to collect through the executive route — and real economic pressure on the debtor starts in weeks, not years.
Most cross-border trade debt is not backed by a pagaré — it lives in invoices, purchase orders and a supply or services contract. That debt has no automatic attachment, but it has a clear path: the ordinary or oral commercial proceeding, where the case is built from evidence most foreign creditors already have:
The demand letter that actually works. Before any filing, we send a formal demand (requerimiento) — in writing, with interest quantified and consequences spelled out — that tells the debtor one thing: this debt is now with Mexican litigation counsel and the next document is a lawsuit. It is not another collections email from abroad that gets filtered and ignored; a meaningful share of debts are paid at this stage, without a courtroom.
When there are signs the debtor is hiding or offloading assets, Mexican commercial law allows precautionary measures — freezing assets before or during the lawsuit — so that winning does not become an uncollectible victory. For companies with recurring bad debt, our receivables recovery service (in Spanish) audits the whole portfolio, triages what is worth pursuing, and escalates debtor by debtor.
Foreign creditors usually arrive with one of two questions, and the honest answer to the second one surprises them:
A U.S., Canadian or European judgment is not directly enforceable against Mexican assets — it must first pass a recognition proceeding before a Mexican court. Broadly, the foreign judgment must be final, come from a court with proper jurisdiction, show the debtor was personally served, and not offend Mexican public policy; the Mexican court does not retry the merits, but the recognition stage is a real proceeding with its own timeline. If you already hold a final judgment and the debtor’s assets are in Mexico, this is the route — we review the judgment before quoting, because not every foreign decision qualifies.
If you have not sued anywhere yet, litigating at home first and then recognizing the judgment in Mexico usually means paying for two proceedings to reach one set of assets. When the debt is documented and the debtor’s assets are in Mexico, filing directly in a Mexican court is often faster and cheaper: one proceeding, direct access to attachment, no recognition stage. It is not always the answer — contractual forum clauses and where the evidence sits matter — but it is the comparison every foreign creditor should see before spending, and we put it in writing at the first consultation.
Either way, the first practical step is the same: asset investigation. A judgment against a debtor with nothing attachable is paper. Before you commit to litigation we investigate solvency — bank accounts, real estate on the public registry, vehicles, receivables — and if the picture is bad, we say so and you keep your money. And if your dispute with a Mexican counterparty goes beyond collection — contracts, partners, ongoing operations — that is the ground covered by our business lawyer services in English.
| Situation | Typical timeline | Fee structure |
|---|---|---|
| Formal pre-suit demand letter (requerimiento) | 2–6 weeks | Fixed fee, quoted upfront |
| Debt backed by a pagaré or check — executive route | Attachment in weeks; 6–12 months typical overall | % of amount recovered |
| Invoices + contract, no executive title — ordinary/oral route | 12–24 months | % of recovery, often with a retainer |
| Recognition of a foreign judgment (exequátur) | Case-specific | Quoted after reviewing the judgment |
| Portfolio of many small/medium debts | Triaged debt by debt | Blended % scheme, quoted after audit |
Collections fees are aligned with your recovery. The standard scheme is a percentage of what is actually collected — commonly 15%–30% depending on amount, age and difficulty — agreed in writing before we start, plus capped litigation expenses. If your company doesn’t collect, our main fee doesn’t exist either. An enforceable Mexican judgment also stays alive: it can be executed against assets the debtor acquires later, for years after the ruling.
Initial consultation: $2,000 MXN (about $100 USD). You leave it with a written viability assessment of your documents, the recommended route (demand letter, executive or ordinary proceeding, or recognition of your foreign judgment), a preliminary read on the debtor’s solvency, and the exact fee proposal — never guessed on the first WhatsApp message.
Yes. Invoices alone are not an executive title, but combined with the contract, the purchase order, proof of delivery (signed receipts, emails, courier records) and an account statement, they prove a collectible debt through ordinary or oral commercial proceedings. Emails and wire-transfer records are admissible evidence in Mexican commercial litigation. Before filing, a formal demand letter from Mexican counsel resolves a meaningful share of cases on its own.
It depends on the document. The executive action on a promissory note (pagaré) is barred 3 years after its due date under Article 165 of the Mexican Negotiable Instruments Law (LGTOC, applied to pagarés through Article 174) — after that, the note loses its fast-track power. Debts based on invoices and commercial contracts generally have longer limitation periods, but every case counts differently. If you hold pagarés approaching three years, that matter goes first.
We investigate before you spend. Sometimes "no assets" is a bluff: there are attachable bank accounts, receivables owed to the debtor, vehicles, machinery or registered real estate. Sometimes it is true — and we tell you plainly, because suing a genuinely insolvent debtor is throwing good money after bad. When a debtor is actively stripping assets, Mexican commercial law allows precautionary measures to freeze property before or during the lawsuit.
Usually no. Foreign creditors grant a power of attorney (signed abroad before a notary and apostilled, or at a Mexican consulate) so the firm can demand, file and litigate on their behalf. Updates happen over WhatsApp, email and video call in English.
Primarily as a percentage of what is actually recovered — commonly in the 15%–30% range depending on the amount, the age of the debt and the debtor's solvency — agreed in writing before we start, plus capped litigation expenses. The initial consultation ($2,000 MXN, about $100 USD) includes a viability review of your documents and the exact fee proposal. We do not promise outcomes: anyone who guarantees recovery before seeing your evidence is selling smoke.
Yes. Óscar Simón Miranda González holds professional license (cédula profesional) 13195234, verifiable on the Mexican Ministry of Education's public registry, with a master's degree in criminal law and 9+ years of litigation experience across commercial and civil matters.
Every collection case has a document question, a solvency question and a deadline question — all three get answered in the first consultation, in English, for $2,000 MXN.
Prefer not to use WhatsApp? Reach us through the contact form — or browse all our services for foreign clients in English.